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Thursday, 1 October 2015

Review: Strands of Bronze and Gold by Jane Nickerson

Goodreads Synopsis:

The Bluebeard fairy tale retold...

When seventeen-year-old Sophia Petheram’s beloved father
dies, she receives an unexpected letter. An invitation—on fine ivory paper, in
bold black handwriting—from the mysterious Monsieur Bernard de Cressac, her
godfather. With no money and fewer options, Sophie accepts, leaving her humble
childhood home for the astonishingly lavish Wyndriven Abbey, in the heart of
Mississippi.

Sophie has always longed for a comfortable life,
and she finds herself both attracted to and shocked by the charm and easy
manners of her overgenerous guardian. But as she begins to piece together the
mystery of his past, it’s as if, thread by thread, a silken net is tightening
around her. And as she gathers stories and catches whispers of his former
wives—all with hair as red as her own—in the forgotten corners of the abbey,
Sophie knows she’s trapped in the passion and danger of de Cressac’s
intoxicating world.

Review:

I found this book so underwhelming; everything that sounded
great in theory (Bluebeard retelling and all that) ended up working against it
and simply put – I was bored.

The historical setting was interesting but not nearly
explored enough with Sophia spending all her time in the Abbey because of
Bernard’s ultimate control. That meant interactions with people were limited (the
few she did have were eye roll-worthy. Particularly the insta-love where I honestly
looked back to check to see if I had fallen asleep for 100 pages) and it lacked
any kind of action.

Only the ending held my attention because things happened. Unfortunately it was
too little too late for me. To be honest I think it would have appealed more
and been memorable had lots of characters died… This shows just how much love I
had for them all!

Sophie is such an ignorant character, which I might have
been able to move past had she not also been bland. You can understand that
people don’t always want to accept what’s right in front of them, however when
everything points to the person you’re staying with being a murdering psychopath,
there’s a point where you need to get the hell out. And she had so many chances!
The reason she stayed was a messed up martyr complex, for money no less. Just
no.

That practically sums up my thoughts to Strands of Bronze
and Gold – just no.

Favourite Quotes:

“Lucky Beauty. Her beast was a man in beast trappings. Far scarier is a
beast in the trappings of a man.”

Disclaimer

I can guarantee that all of my reviews are honest, which includes the reviews I have written based on review copies I have received which are clearly specified. The fact that they are review copies has no impact on my thoughts and opinions stated in the review. I do not receive any form of monetary compensation for my reviews from authors/publishers.